Photosynthesis requires abiotic factors. What are some of these necessary factors?

Water, sunlight & CO 2

What is a community?

All of the different populations that live together in an area

What are the levels of organization, or progression, of an ecosystem?

OPCE:

Organism---Population---Community---Ecosystem

What study of how living things interact w/ea. Other& w/their environment?

ecology

What is the place where an organism lives and that provides the things the organism needs?

habitat

What is an organism’s particular role, or how it makes its living?

niche

What is the reason for competition in an ecosystem?
What are some examples ?

The struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat w/limited resources A hawk and elf owl living in saguaro at different times of day.

What is an organism that does the killing?

predator

What is an organism that is killed?

prey

What is the interaction in which one organism kills and eats another?

predation

What is a close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species?

symbiosis

A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefits

mutualism

Examples: mammal intestines and bacteria or a saguaro cactus and long-eared bats

What is a plant or an organism that can produce its own food?

producer

What is an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms?

a consumer

examples: caterpillars/cattle/deer

What is a onsumers that eat plants?

herbivore

caterpillars/cattle/deer

What is a meat eater?

carnivore

What is a consumer that eats both plants and animals?

omnivore

What is a carnivore that feeds on bodies of dead organisms?

scavenger

What are organisms that break down wastes & dead organisms & return the raw materials to the environment? Some of these like fungi, molds, bacteria & mushrooms return simple molecules to the environment which can be used again by other organisms.

decomposers

What is a series of events in which one organism eats another & obtains energy?

food chain

What consists of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem/Organism’s have a much greater chance of survival if they are part of a food web, as a more diverse diet exists.

food web

What displays the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web? Most of the energy is available at the producer level Each level beyond the producer level has less energy than the level before it.

Energy pyramid

What is the continuous process by which water moves from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere & back? (H20 on Earth is warmed, evaporates into water vapor, rises, cools, condenses, becomes saturated and precipitates. Accumulation of water on Earth and then the cycle repeats itself)

water cycle

What is a group of ecosystems w/similar climates & organisms?

biome

What is an area that receives less than 25 cm rain/yr?

desert

What biome is an area that receives bwt. 25-75 cm rain/yr populated w/grasses & other woody plants?

1. 97% of the water on Earth is salt which is not good for drinking or watering crops 2. ¾ of fresh water available is ice 3. water is not always close to where people live 4. some water near people’s homes may not be clean/is polluted

What is water stored in layers of soil & rock beneath Earth’s surface?

ground water

What is an area in which water, sediments & dissolved materials drain to a common outlet, such as a river, lake, bay, or ocean?

water shed

The three major CT rivers, The Connecticut, Housatonic and Thames Rivers, all spill into what large body of water below our state?

Long Island Sound

Why does most pollution on earth occur?

human behavior or activity

What is sewage? Why is it so dangerous?

Water and human wastes that are washed down toilets, sinks, & showers If not treated to kill disease-causing organisms, they quickly multiply& people very ill.

How can fertilizers pollute water?

These chemicals that provide nutrients for plants/crops to grow better can wash into bodies of water and make algae grow too rapidly. This algae blocks the light needed for photosynthesis.

What are chemicals that kill crop-destroying organisms such as beetles or worms?

pesticides

What are some of the ways humans pollute water in the U.S.?

1. agriculture 5. oil spills 9.fertilizers

2. industry 6. sewage 10.hazardous wastes

3. construction 7. heat

4. mining 8. pesticides

How can bodies of water be polluted by natural causes, such as the result of the water cycle?

Water from rain or storms may can cause harm to bodies of water. During the water cycle, water vapor cools causing it to condense on foreign particles (acids from emissions/vocanic ash/pollen/dust, etc.) When clouds become saturated precipitation occurs. During this stage of the water the cycle, gravity may pull pollutants to the ground. Accumulated precipitation also contributes to contaminants on the ground being picked up by flowing water. Sewage, hazardous wastes, pesticides, fertilizers, agricultural wastes and construction debris can be transported into clean bodies of water causing pollution/unsafe aquatic conditions.